Sex offender ex-priest working at nonprofit

A former priest and registered sex offender hopes his past won't hurt his employer's bid to improve neighborhood blight in Wilkes-Barre.

Robert Timchak, 47, works as the office manager for In The Gap, a fledgling grass-roots organization that wants to build affordable townhouses on vacant properties owned by the city.

Larissa Cleary, a local real estate agent and the group's founder, spoke to city council Tuesday to ask the city to sell her lots on Hickory and South River streets.

Timchak served as pastor of Transfiguration Church in West Hazleton and its sister parish, Ss. Peter and Paul Lithuanian in Hazleton, from July 2000 to June 2006.

In 2009, state police received an anonymous tip alleging Timchak, who at the time was serving as an assistant pastor for the Diocese of Scranton in Pike County, downloaded child pornography.

Police searched his computer and found photographs of naked, underage boys - many around 11 years old, authorities said - and evidence that he tried to delete them. Timchak pleaded guilty to 17 counts of possessing child pornography in 2010 and was released from prison last June.

Timchak, who is from Wilkes-Barre, returned home after prison. Although he's technically still a priest, he's been on a leave of absence from the diocese and is banned from performing religious duties. He has become an active member of First Baptist Church of Wilkes-Barre. There, he met Cleary, who hired him last month to help with the organization.

Cleary said Timchak was open about his past, and his parole officer visited the office to ensure the arrangement didn't violate any post-release conditions. Timchak cannot be alone with children or supervise underage employees. He is required to be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life and provide his home and employment addresses and a current photograph of himself that are available online.

Timchak said on Monday that his new job doesn't violate any terms of his parole, and his parole officer approved the arrangement. He said his duties include taking phone calls, creating fliers, organizing paperwork and maintaining the group's website. He also has helped pass out fliers with Cleary, spoken at meetings, and is listed as a contact person on a flier advertising a block party organized by the group.

"As long as I'm not working in direct contact with kids, there's nothing that is inappropriate," Timchak said. "If you're working as an office manager for a real estate holding company, that doesn't affect kids."

Cleary said she hired Timchak after learning he needed a job. She said she knew his past would eventually become an issue, but she said he deserves a chance to rejoin society.

"Everything else I know about Bob is positive stuff," Cleary said. "He hasn't given me a reason not to trust him."

The Rev. Shawn Walker, pastor of the First Baptist Church, said Timchak began attending sermons last year and fully disclosed his past before becoming a member. Walker said he thought Timchak deserved a second chance to rebuild his life and the opportunity to work, no matter how disturbed people are about the nature of his crimes, as long as he isn't jeopardizing anyone's safety.

However, Frank Sorick, a local blogger, disagreed. Sorick said he's very concerned by Timchak's involvement with the group and the possibility he could come in contact with children. Sorick wrote a blog post about Timchak's new job and said he has spoken with parishioners at First Baptist Church who were unaware that Timchak was a registered sex offender.

"My concerns are doing any type of community development work with a person with this type of background," Sorick said. "I've looked at Larissa's plan â¦ All of that looks great, other than Bob's involvement. A lot of neighbors are uneasy, and that makes me uneasy."

Councilman George Brown, who began working with Cleary earlier this month, said he was surprised when he learned about Timchak's past last weekend. He said he wished Timchak would have told him about it when they first met.

"Does it mean this program or idea is dead? I think that's something that all five council members will have to decide," Brown said.

Council did not make a decision on the townhouse project during the meeting Tuesday.

chong@citizensvoice.com

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